Monthly Archives: April 2010

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AZUSA — An 8-year-old boy was hospitalized in critical condition Friday after he was struck by a car while riding his bike, police said.The incident was reported about 5:10 p.m. in the 100 block of North Pasadena Avenue, Azusa police Sgt. John Madaloni said.The cause of the crash remained under investigation, he said, however alcohol or drugs did not appear to be a factor, and no citations or arrests were made late Friday.The injured boy was rushed to the hospital by ambulance with critical injuries, Madaloni said.The boy was not wearing a helmet, he added.Anyone with information about the crash is asked to call the Azusa Police Department.

COVINA — Police arrested a man Friday after he allegedly groped a 19-year-old woman in a Covina movie theater, authorities said.Miguel Aldaco, 39, of was booked on suspicion of sexual battery and was being held in lieu of $20,000 bail, Covina police officials said.The incident took place about 7 p.m. at AMC Theaters, 1414 North Azusa Avenue, Covina police Lt. Tim Doonan said.A 19-year-old woman was watching a movie with her family when she felt something touching her upper legs and buttocks, above her clothing, the lieutenant said.She saw Aldaco, who was seated nearby in the theater, reaching out and touching her, he said.The young woman immediately stood up and told her parents what had happened, Doonan said, and Aldaco fled from the theater.A security guard followed him outside and flagged down a passing California Highway Patrol officer, who arrested Aldaco without further incident, he said.The woman and her parents were upset, Doonan added, but the alleged victim was not injured.Aldaco was due for arraignment Tuesday in West Covina Superior Court, authorities said.

INDUSTRY — A man was wounded in the foot in a drive-by shooting Thursday, authorities said.The incident took place about 5 p.m. at Nelson and Orange avenues in Industry, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. Hiroshi Yokoyama said.An older-model black Cadillac passed by when a Latino man inside opened fire, the lieutenant said.After being struck in the foot by a bullet, the 18-year-old victim was able to flee to safety and was later taken to the hospital by family members, Yokoyama said. His injuries did not appear life-threatening.Deputies learned of the shooting when the hospital called to report receiving a gunshot wound victim in their emergency room, he added.-A motive in the attack was not known late Thursday, he said, though authorities suspected the assailant was a gang member.

PASADENA — Police arrested a man Thursday on suspicion of robbing a woman of her iPhone the previous day, authorities said.Jose Loeza, 22, of Pasadena was booked on suspicion of robbery, Pasadena police Lt. Keith Jones said.He was taken into custody after police identified him with the help of the alleged victim, he added.A 19-year-old woman was walking about 10:30 a.m. Wednesday near Sierra Bonita Avenue and Walnut Street when a man approached her from behind and snatched her iPhone from her, police said.The robber jumped into a nearby Ford Mustang and fled, officials said, and the young woman jumped into her own car and gave chase. The robber eventually pulled over, and the woman was able to retrieve her phone.The woman obtained the Mustang’s license plate number and was able to identify the thief from a photo line-up, Jones said.Officers contacted him by telephone Thursday afternoon, and Loeza told police they could pick him up in the 1200 block of North Altadena Drive, the lieutenant said. Police arrested him there about 6 p.m.Loeza was being held in lieu of $50,000 bail, Jones said, and was due for arraignment in Pasadena Superior Court Tuesday.

SANTA FE SPRINGS — Officials flew a 14-year-old boy to the hospital Thursday after he was struck by a car while riding his bike, authorities said.The crash occurred just before 5:20 p.m. at Lakeland and Carmenita roads in an unincorporated county area near Santa Fe Springs, according to California Highway Patrol logs.The young bicyclist suffered injuries to his head and face, but was conscious when taken to Los Angeles County-USC Medical Center with apparently moderate injuries, Los Angeles County Fire Department Capt. Clint Kaller said.He was flown to the hospital by helicopter as a precaution, the captain added.The driver of the Mercedes-Benz sedan that struck the boy remained at the scene and appeared to be cooperating with CHP officers, Kaller added.The cause of the crash was being investigated by the Santa Fe Springs office of the CHP.

IRWINDALE — Deputies stood in stoic guard for 24 hours Thursday at the spot where Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Deputy David March was fatally shot during a traffic stop eight years ago.To keep his memory alive, deputies from the sheriff’s Temple Station, where March, 33, last served, and throughout the county took turns keeping an honor guard for the fallen deputy on Live Oak Avenue, just east of Peck Road.March was gunned down by Jorge Arroyo Garcia, also known as Armando Garcia, on April 29, 2002, during a routine traffic stop. Garcia is serving a life sentence in prison after admitting to the slaying five years later.Colleagues of March, a Saugus resident, described him as a dedicated deputy and a soft-spoken, kind man.Lt. Linda Becker, who worked with March at the sheriff’s Temple Station, took a turn standing guard over the site of the killing.“I just remember him as being such a great, motivated, enthusiastic deputy,” she said. “He was just an honorable man. He was respected by all his peers.”She added he was also a good husband to his wife, Teri, and a good step-father to his now-20-year-old step-daughter.“He’s sure missed by everyone,” Becker said. “Even today.”Deputies volunteered to stand guard in teams of two or three in half-hour shifts in front of flags, flowers and a permanent memorial to March built by the City of Irwindale. Most of the deputies were off-duty.Deputy Herb Howland said March was “liked by everybody.”“He was very soft-spoken,” the deputy added. “His mannerisms were very quiet. He was just one of those genuinely nice people.”At the time of the shooting, Garcia was an illegal immigrant who had already been deported four times and was also wanted on suspicion of attempted murder in Baldwin Park, authorities said. The attempted murder charges were dropped when he pleaded guilty to murdering the 7-year law enforcement veteran.He is believed to have fled to Mexico within 24 hours of murdering March, where Mexican authorities arrested him in February, 2006.He was extradited to the United States to face trial in early 2007, and he pleaded guilty two months later.Pomona Superior Court Judge Charles Horan sentenced Garcia to spend the rest of his life in prison, without the possibility of parole.Fellow law enforcement officers used March’s handcuffs to bring the killer back from Mexico.

CASTAIC — Authorities have recaptured two accused armed robbers who escaped from a Castaic jail.Sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore says the two men were caught about half a mile from the facility following a phone call from a local resident.Jose Aldana and Winder Barrios were discovered missing from the North County Correctional Facility during a head count at 3:15 a.m. Wednesday.Whitmore says the 24-year-olds apparently escaped about two hours earlier while working at a kitchen loading dock.The men are accused of using a shotgun in a home invasion robbery in Encino last year and of robbing motorists in the Hollywood area.

POMONA — A 1-year-old boy was killed on Tuesday after his teen mother backed a truck over him, Pomona police said. Police said the 16-year-old mother, who has not been identified, did not appear to be under the influence of drugs or alcohol but she does not have a driver’s license. The accident happened at 7:50 a.m. after the mother backed her 2000 Dodge Ram truck out a private driveway onto Muir Street, where the boy was apparently playing. He was taken to Pomona Valley Hospital Medical Center and died hours later.

MONTEREY PARK — A man pleaded not guilty Wednesday to murdering his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend in a Monterey Park apartment, court officials said.Richard Tauch, 45, of Corona is charged with two counts of murder in connection with the Jan. 19 shooting deaths of Wenwa Chao, 53, of Alhambra and Jenny Sor, 40, of Los Angeles.They were found fatally shot just before 8 p.m. inside an apartment in the 200 block of N. Chandler Avenue, officials said.Tauch was jailed on suspicion of the slaying the following day.Sor said she had dated Tauch for more than a year in the past, family members said at the time of the killings. She had just recently started dating Chao.Tauch is due back in Alhambra Superior Court May 15, when officials will set a date for a preliminary hearing. At the hearing, a judge will listen to evidence from both the prosecution and defense to determine whether there is sufficient evidence to order Tauch to stand trial.According to sheriff’s booking records, he is being held without bail.

POMONA — A judge sentenced a Temple City woman to 24 years in state prison Wednesday for stealing from primarily elderly victims through travel and lottery scams, authorities said.Pomona Superior Court Judge Tia Fisher handed down the sentence to Delia Socorro Tellez, 53, after she was convicted of 24 felony counts, Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office spokeswoman Shiara Dvila-Morales said in a written statement.Sixteen victims lost as much as thousands of dollars each in the scams, Dvila-Morales added, which took place between November 2005 and December 2008.Officials charged Tellez in March with four counts of grand theft, eight counts of residential burglary and 12 counts of theft from an elder, officials said.In her lottery scam, Tellez and an unknown accomplice would convince victims she’d won the lottery but could not collect the prize because she was an undocumented immigrant, according to the DA’s office. After receiving cash and jewelry as “collateral” from the unwitting victims, Tellez left them empty-handed.In the travel scam, Dvila-Morales, Tellez held meetings at Catholic churches throughout Los Angeles County to sell trips to Jerusalem and other destinations. The victims received nothing after most paid Tellez more than $3,000.

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